CSA Week #18

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Farm Updates

As we switch gears into the fall/winter seasons, we’re looking at extending the season with greenhouses and low tunnels, planting cold hardy crops and thinking ahead to crops that will survive the winter and produce in the early spring. At Ripple, we’ve been getting ready for the impending cold snap by building lots of low tunnels over our fall and winter crops. We’ve also planted our two high poly tunnels with lettuce, spinach, scallions, arugula, mizuna and tah tsai.

The weekend storm definitely left a lot of standing water around the farm. Check out that photo of our garden path flooded out by Milman Creek! Gum boots are definitely required now.

Not surprisingly, we’ve got one eye on the current weather, and one wandering far off into next July… That means there is one crop that is occupying our waking moments (and keeping us up at night): GARLIC.

Amara farmers are now holding fast to their remaining garlic – it will be planted for next season. You will likely see some of the Korean Red from Ripple next week or the week after. As we scramble to procure seed garlic from organic sources, we will be preparing beds with loads of compost, mulch and fish bone meal over the next few weeks. Garlic is a demanding crop, but as we all know, it’s well worth the effort!

Potluck October 11th!

Just a reminder that you are invited to Amara Farm on Friday, October 11 for a potluck from 3:00-6:00PM. We’ll be making signs for the March Against Monsanto on Saturday, October 12. We’ll have sign-making materials handy, but feel free to bring your paints, markers, boards and sticks!

The March Against Monsanto is on Saturday October 12, starting at noon for a picnic at Simm’s Park in Courtenay.

What’s in the share this week?

All shares:

Bok choi or Chinese cabbage

Carrots

Salad mix

Half shares only:

Kale

Full shares add:

Radishes

Summer squash

Basil

Jalapeno peppers

Recipe: Arzeena’s magic 10-minute noodles

Russell and I were at Arzeena’s the other night, and she made serious noodle magic in the kitchen. The kids were hungry, and there wasn’t much time for dinner as she had a meeting to attend afterwards. We watched in amazement as she whipped up this healthy dish and graciously tossed bowls of yumminess in front of everyone – this is my attempt at writing it down to share it. Let me know how it works out for you!

This recipe is a great fall and winter nourishing meal, and best of all, it’s easy and quick!

This amount should serve 2-3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 kids. Feel free to experiment with quantity.

Ingredients:

1 bok choi or Chinese cabbage, shredded or sliced finely

1/2 package of rice noodles or buckwheat noodles

3 TBS miso paste of your choice

8 cups water or broth

Optional ingredients and further noodle inspirations:

Sautéed mushrooms and leeks (chanterelles are amazing – available at LUSH most days)

Tofu – cubed and fried in sesame oil (with a dash of Bragg’s or tamari or soy sauce at the end)

Kimchi

Anything you can think of!

Delicious and easy add-ons to your bowl o’ noodles:

Sriracha or other hot sauce

Toasted sesame oil

Boil water, and cook noodles according to directions on package. Once noodles are cooked, take the pot off of the heat. Take a small amount of the water out of the pot in a small dish, and whisk in the miso with a fork, making a runny liquid that will mix into the soup more easily. Add the miso (do not boil or the enzymes will be destroyed!) Add the Chinese cabbage or choi and let sit for 1 minute. Eat immediately. Hooray for healthy and delicious fast food 🙂